Rotorua to Wellington

 

We have made our way all the way down to Wellington! From Rotorua we made our way down to Turangi where we stayed at our first free camp ground.  After meticulously setting up our little camp and having diner we noticed that the crowd that gather around the free camp ground are a little different than those we've seen at others.  For starters one van pulled up piled full of people and we can only imagine they were stoned as they parked their camper at the most peculiar angle halfway up a hill.  Another couple of boys were drunk and took an hour to set up a tent and parked their car so it almost blocked the road out.  And finally a pair of Russians next to us were hitting the liquor hard from their brown paper bags.  We were extremely entertained as we watch everyone attempt to set up camp; at the same time felt a little square in comparison as we sipped out tea by the fire.

Our plan was to hike the famous Tongariro Crossing but the weather report for the hike involved gale force winds and snow so we decided to motor to the South Island and hope for better weather on our way back North. Despite the rather crappy weather we made the best of our time in Turangi by visiting the very interesting National Trout Centre; took a dip in a private thermal pool (which was excellent timing as we were in rather desperate need of a bath) and drove down the Whanganui River which played an important part in New Zealand's history as a passage to the north before sophisticated road systems were built. 

We are currently in Wellington and  have spent the last two nights here in a hostel taking advantage of some creature comforts like laundry machines and showers.  We drove to the top of Mt Victoria for some excellent views of the city and then the better part of the day at The Te Papa Museum which was extremely impressive.  We spent several hours there and required a coffee break to refuel to make sure we saw it all!  Today we catch the ferry to the South Island!  We have clean cloths, have showered and the weather forecast looks great...South Island here we come!

R